Are you desperate for Downton Abbey to return? The fifth season is due to premiere stateside in early 2015, but if you can wait that long, might we suggest you try streaming Call The Midwife? It’s the addictive BBC series that finally beat Downton Abbey in the UK ratings and you can mainline the first two seasons right now on Netflix.

Call The Midwife might sound like a silly and stuffy show, but it’s actually a brilliant series that will hook its claws into and never let go. Here are just five reasons why you ought to tune in while you wait for your other favorite British costume drama to come back.

It’s Surprisingly Edgy.

Call The Midwife is inspired from the memoirs of Jennifer Worth. She was a midwife in a low-income London neighborhood in the 1950s and saw all sorts of social injustices and became involved in her patients’ (and co-workers’) dramatic lives. So, in many ways the show is less like a Downton Abbey clone and more like Orange Is The New Black set in 1950s London. The series winds up tackling social justice issues like poverty, feminism, religion and universal health care. Through the prim and perfect Nurse Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine), we meet all sorts of incredible women from diverse backgrounds. We meet nuns and career girls, East End matriarchs and teenagers trying to hide their pregnancies. And we care about all of them.

It’s Tense And Gritty.

Yeah, so the lead art for the show is a bunch of happy midwives cycling through London, but the show is as tense and gritty as any of your favorite medical dramas. The series never flinches from showing pregnancy as not just a time of hope, but a terrifying ordeal. There are dangerous deliveries and tragic stories. According to my mom, who was a labor and delivery nurse in the 1960s, the show quite accurately depicts the complications that could arise prior to 21st century medicine. So, yeah, women and children went through all the scary things you’ll see on this show — and some still do.

It’s Fun And Romantic.

Yeah, Call The Midwife is edgy, but it’s also got heaps of fun, humor and romance. Remember, this is a show about a young single woman in 1950s London. She encounters suitors, watches her friends fall in love, and has to deal with her own heartbreak and regret. Even if nothing else about this show grabs you, the love stories should.

It’s Pretty.

Like Mad Men and Masters of Sex, Call The Midwife tucks into the tumultuous mid-20th century. So, in addition to seeing tons of social change, we also get to see some great costumes, props and sets. Who doesn’t love 1950s style?

It’s Easy To Watch. Right Now.

The first two seasons of Call The Midwife are available to stream here on Netflix. The third season aired on PBS this past spring, so it’s only a matter of time before it migrates over to Netflix. If you can’t wait until then, you can buy the third season on Amazon Instant Video or iTunes. In any event, the next season of Downton Abbey won’t be legal to watch or stream in the United States before 2015. So, you’ve got some time to kill and Call The Midwife is ready and waiting for you.